Natural Asia
Our new Singapore Gardens and Malaysia tour gives you the chance to commune with nature in three of Asia’s greenest locations
Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Singapore’s award-winning showpiece of horticulture and garden artistry claims to be a place where wonder blooms. The marketeers are not exaggerating - as well as hosting the spectacular eight day celebration of tropical gardening that is the Singapore Garden Festival, this awe-inspiring garden is home to specialist conservatories such as the Flower Dome, where flowers from the Mediterranean regions bloom in a perpetual spring, and the Cloud Forest, home to the world’s tallest waterfall. (Take the lift to the top to discover plants living 2,000m above sea level.) And of course, no one can miss the Supertrees; ranging from 25-50m tall, these vertical gardens are home to around 162,000 plants.
Gaya Island Resort, Malaysian Borneo
Borneo is the single largest stretch of rain forest in Southeast Asia and the third largest rain forest on earth. It is also home to over 288 mammal species, 600 birds, 100 amphibians, 105 lizards, 160 snakes, 394 fish, as well as a multitude of insect species. Our programme takes you to Gaya Island, the largest of five islands which make up the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park in Sabah, which has been a forest reserve since 1923. Based at the Gaya Island Resort, a luxurious sanctuary nestled in the hillside of the ancient rain forest, you will have the chance to discover the rare, undisturbed forest of mixed dipterocarp trees found only on Gaya Island. The resort’s resident Naturalist Justin Juhun will take you on an extraordinary adventure, guiding you through dense tangles of vines and looping rattans, and past palms, shrubs and massive hardwood trees filled with camouflaged wildlife. The walks vary in terms of distance and difficulty, but all are designed to give you an authentic taste of one of the world’s most exceptional botanic reserves.
Cameron Highlands Resort, Malaysia
This elegant former hill station is set 1,500 metres above sea level in a forested mountainscape surrounded by breath taking scenery of lush rolling hills, tea plantations, strawberry and vegetable farms, jungle trails, cascading waterfalls and flower gardens. Your time here includes a fascinating tour designed to introduce you to the many different and unique varieties of vegetables, flowers, roses, strawberries and cacti grown in the Highlands. Expect to venture into an intriguing world filled with butterflies and honeybees.
To find out more about this programme please call us on 0800 298 0588 or email sales@ecttravel.com